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Transformation of housing in slum upgrading areas: lessons from Turkey

TRANSFORMATION OF HOUSING IN SLUM UPGRADING AREAS:
LESSONS FROM TURKEY
by
Sema Dogan
_______________________________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(PLANNING)
August 2009
Copyright 2009 Sema Dogan

This study examines the role of community-level dynamics in the transformation of housing by slum upgrading programs in Turkey, with a special focus on user-initiated involvement in improving housing conditions. Drawing from an understanding that slum areas, where market-oriented actors are not interested in implementing upgrading plans, have been transformed by community-level dynamics and households acting as entrepreneurs, this study attempts to understand the ways in which user-initiated involvement affects the slum upgrading plans in their communities.; Based on a field survey done in Gultepe district, in the Izmir metropolitan area, and drawing particularly on the quantitative case study method, the study tries to integrate the self-help housing literature with the housing adjustment literature in the study of the slum upgrading programs implemented in the context of developing nations. The study specifically examines what the role of user-initiated involvement in the slum upgrading process should be, if user-initiated housing improvements can improve the housing conditions in slums, if this involvement increases the community attachment of households, and how households are involved in implementing the slum upgrading plans in their communities.; The study found that user-initiated involvement in slum upgrading plans could indeed trigger improvement in housing conditions by increasing the habitable space and comfort of slum units, and by encouraging the use of more durable construction materials. The findings suggest that incremental improvements resulting from user-initiated methods have been effective in upgrading housing, and that they motivate slum dwellers by giving them the opportunity to improve their units based on their own needs and economic constraints. The findings also suggest that user-initiated housing improvement does indeed trigger an increase in neighborhood satisfaction and community attachment. However, the planning and design decisions of municipalities also influence the neighborhood satisfaction of households.; Overall, the findings suggest that user-initiated housing improvement gives the actual residents in slum areas the opportunity to shape their own communities. Therefore, it is suggested that, since user-initiated housing improvement activities have been effective as a form of neighborhood upgrading, community-level dynamics and user-initiated involvements should be integrated into current slum upgrading programs in developing countries.

TRANSFORMATION OF HOUSING IN SLUM UPGRADING AREAS:
LESSONS FROM TURKEY
by
Sema Dogan
_______________________________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(PLANNING)
August 2009
Copyright 2009 Sema Dogan